Research Administration Forum
Contracts
Learning Objectives
To understand the changes from the new Uniform Guide. To understand what services are provided by Research
Support Services in the area of contracts.
To understand the difference between a subrecipient and
a contractor.
To understand the process for issuing either a subaward
Research Support Services
Sponsored Program Agreements/Contracts (incoming) For contracts where the University will be the recipient of
the funds, initiate the agreement by submitting:
an intent to submit to [email protected] Internal budget
Proposal summary form Scope of work
Basically, the same process as initiating a grant proposal. Subawards (outgoing)
For contracts where the University is the prime awardee and
Uniform Guide
The new Uniform Guide has replaced the
term vendor with contractor to remove
ambiguity between the different OMB
Circulars.
§200.22 Contract
§200.92 Subaward
§200.330 Subrecipient and contractor
determinations
Consistency
The University has adopted this guidance to determine the status of a subrecipient versus a contractor for all
sponsored projects, no matter the funding type (federal, state, or industry funding).
Subrecipients
A subaward is for the purpose of carrying out a portion of an award in which the prime recipient creates a relationship with the subrecipient.
Subrecipient Characteristics
Under UG §200.330, Subrecipient and
contractor determinations, an organization
is considered to be a subrecipient of an
award when the prime recipient:
determines who is eligible to receive what Federal financial
assistance;
has its performance measured against whether the objectives of
the program are met;
has responsibility for programmatic decision making; has responsibility for adherence to applicable program
compliance requirements; and
uses the funds to carry out a program of the organization as
compared to providing goods or services for a program of the pass-through entity.
Other Subrecipient Characteristics
The organization is contributing to the
scholarly/scientific conduct of the project as
described in the statement of work for the
organization (programmatic involvement);
The conduct of the organization’s portion of the
project requires use of the discretion and unique
expertise of the organization.
The subrecipient’s principal investigator may be a
co-author on publications or may seek patent
protections for inventions.
Title to intellectual property created by
subrecipient is normally retained by the
subrecipient.
Contractors
A contract is for the purpose of obtaining goods and
services for the entity’s own use and creates a procurement relationship with the contractor.
Contractor Characteristics
Under UG §200.330, Subrecipient and contractor
determinations, an organization is considered to be a contractor of an award when the entity receiving the funds:
provides goods and services within normal business
operations;
provides similar goods and services to many different
purchasers;
normally operates in a competitive environment; provides goods and services that are ancillary
(contribute) to the operation of the program; and
is not subject to compliance requirements of the
Consultant
A ‘consultant’ is an expert advisor who is paid
for his/her time at a fixed rate of
compensation (hourly or daily and includes
travel, out-of-pocket expenses, and overhead)
specified in the consultant agreement.
A consultant may be an individual or a
company.
A consultant must use their own equipment
and materials.
Individuals who work full time and consult on
the side may not use the equipment or
facilities at their full time employer for
consulting purposes.
Uniform Guide §200.330
UG §200.330, Subrecipient and contractor
determinations, states that there may be unusual
circumstances or exceptions to the listed
characteristics.
In making the determination of whether a
subrecipient or contractor relationship exists, the
substance of the relationship is more important
than the form of the agreement.
It is not expected that all of the characteristics will
be present and judgment should be used in
determining whether an entity is a subrecipient or
contractor.
The Subaward Process
Step I: Initiate the Subaward Process
The Office of Research Support Services (RSS) receives
an award notice from the sponsor.
RSS will initiate the subaward agreement with the identified
subrecipient, based upon:
Approval of Subaward by the Prime Sponsor Detailed Budget
Budget Justification
Statement of Work
Subaward Principal Investigator (PI) Identification Subaward Contact Information
The Subaward Process
Step 2: Draft of the Subaward Agreement
RSS will draft the subaward agreement to
incorporate/address:
Required terms and conditions of:
o The State of Tennessee o The prime
Subrecipient’s statement of work, budget and budget justification
Required certifications and representations
The Subaward Process
Step 3: Negotiation of Terms and Conditions of the Subaward Agreement
Upon completion of the initial draft, RSS will submit the
subaward agreement to the subrecipient.
Subrecipient will review subaward agreement.
Negotiation between subrecipient and RSS will occur, until
all terms and conditions of the agreement are acceptable by both parties.
The Subaward Process
Step 4: Execution of the Subaward
Upon acceptance and completion of the final draft, the
subaward document is signed by the authorized representatives of:
The University
The Subrecipient
When both parties have signed the agreement, it is
The Subaward Process
Step 5: Procurement of Subaward
Upon execution of the agreement:
RSS notifies applicable PI and department that subaward agreement has been executed.
RSS requests applicable PI and department to:
Initiate a requisition in TigerBuy
Complete and submit to Procurement and copy to RSS the following forms:
1. Executed Agreement
2. Sole Source Justification Form
3. Contract Routing Form
The Procurement Office issues the Purchase Order (PO)
The Subaward Process
Step 6: Subaward Invoicing Process
Invoices received from the subrecipient are reviewed, approved
and submitted for payment by the PI.
Step 7: Subaward PO Closeout
Procurement Office institutes Subaward PO Closeout based on
Contract Procurement Process
This includes agreements for personal, professional, and consultant services .
The contract procurement process follows the University contract services process found at:
Dual Service Agreements
Faculty or staff receiving compensation from another
state agency or TBR for work performed outside normal duties (extra compensation) must have a dual service agreement with the procuring entity.
This is not applicable to work performed within normal
duties (buy-out of effort); in which case, a services or consulting agreement is executed.
It is the responsibility of the Faculty or Staff performing
work on a dual service to secure approval from their department Chair prior to accepting the assignment.
Effective immediately, RSS will require a proposal
summary form (PSF), signed by the Chair and Dean for all dual service agreements.
